September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. Here are some facts on the disease:

• It's one of the most common cancers in the U.S. About 186,000 new cases are expected this year. That compares to about 184,000 new cases of breast cancer.

• One in six U.S. men will get it in their lifetime. The average age at diagnosis is 68.

• More than 28,000 American men are expected to die from it this year.

• Prostate cancer is among the more curable cancers, if it's detected early. It has a five-year survival rate of 99 percent.

• Since approval of the PSA (prostate specific antigen) blood test in 1986, the number of men diagnosed with the disease has skyrocketed -- from just over 100 per 100,000 to nearly 175 per 100,000 in 2004.

• Some prostate cancers detected with a PSA test are very slow-growing. Some doctors recommend "active surveillance" in these cases. Others call for aggressive treatment.

• Between 3 and 7 percent of men who undergo surgery for prostate cancer will develop some degree of incontinence.

• Erectile dysfunction varies with age and overall health, but about 60 to 70 percent of men who have their prostates removed will be able to achieve an erection with a drug like Viagra.

• Several types of vaccines to boost the body's immune response to prostate-cancer cells are being tested in clinical trials.

The American Cancer Society recommends that men over age 50 be screened for prostate cancer with what is called a PSA (prostate specific antigen) blood test and a digital rectal exam. Men with a strong family history of prostate cancer and African-American men -- who are at higher risk of developing prostate cancer at a younger age -- should be screened starting at age 45.

Source: Dr. Linda Grossheim, a radiation oncologist with the West Michigan Cancer Center in Kalamazoo